VICE History: Founding, Timeline, and Milestones - Zippia

Vice Media founders Shane Smith, Suroosh Alvi, and Gavin McInnes launched the magazine Voice of Montreal in October 1994 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with government funding, to cover music, art, trends and drug culture not covered in print.

What started in 1994 as a small printed punk magazine in Montreal has become a multi platform media corporation known as VICE media.

In 1996 the three founders bought out the magazines publisher Alix Laurent and renamed it to VICE – a buzzword for sin, bad habits and rude language.

They changed the name to Vice in 1996, and as the magazine became more successful, the company began to find it difficult to scale their operations while based in Canada.

Since 2006, VIRTUE has used its entertainment DNA to help brands capture the attention of their audiences with work that speaks to our most primal instincts of pleasure, attraction and delight.

With the boom of video journalism and the rise video platforms like YouTube moving images started flooding the web in 2006.

In 2006, on the advice of creative director Spike Jonze, Vice began expanding into digital video, launching new video service VBS.tv as a joint venture with MTV Networks.

In terms of organizational structure, “Vice aligned its organization structure with business strategy, thereby improving its business outcomes” (Alvi 7). In 2012, Vice developed into a strong brand, which contributed to it starting a growth-through-acquisitions strategy.

In 2012, Vice Media continued to expand its coverage focused around news and current events.

On 2 July 2014, Vice Media announced that it would be relocating into a warehouse space in Williamsburg that had been occupied by the independent arts spaces and concert venues 285 Kent, Death by Audio, and Glasslands, among others.

As of October 2014, the editor of BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat claimed the BBC was "playing catch-up" to Vice News.

Rupert Murdochs Newscorp bought a 5% stake for 70 million US$. And in 2014 A&E networks, a joint venture of Walt Disney and the Hearst Corporation, bought a 10% share for 250 million dollars.

In 2014, the second season of the show won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series or Special in the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

In a 2014 Time column, Carr said that Vice had since grown into a strong news entity.

On 26 March 2015, HBO announced it would renew its contract to broadcast the weekly Vice documentary series for four years, while expanding the annual broadcast schedule from 14 to nearly 30 episodes.

In November 2015, Vice and A&E Networks announced Viceland, a then-upcoming cable network that would feature Vice-produced content.

Nancy Dubuc joins VICE as CEO after serving on VICE’s Board of Directors since 2015.

The new deal builds on VICE's previous deal to serve as a 2015 global launch partner on the Snapchat Discover platform.

The show, entitled Vice News Tonight, premiered 10 October 2016 and was planned to run 48 weeks each year, featuring pre-edited video and graphics segments covering global news, technology, the environment, economics and pop culture, while eschewing the use of live TV anchors.

Launched in 2016 in partnership with A+E Networks, VICE’s original, immersive docustyle content is transparent, visceral, and unfiltered.

On 14 March 2017, Vice announced an expanded original programming deal with Snap Inc.

Also in March 2017, Vice announced a wide range of content deals which would make its programming available in more than 80 territories by the end of 2017.

In June 2017, Vice secured a $450 million investment from private-equity firm TPG Capital to increase spending on scripted programming and ongoing international expansion.

Launched in 2017, VICE Studios is a global television and feature film production company that encompasses the development, financing, production, and distribution of multi-platform content.

In March 2018, Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith announced he was transitioning out as CEO and would take on the new title of Executive Chairman.

On 20 August 2018, Vice's Munchies and Fremantle Media signed a deal with Triple Five Group to gain control of the food hall at American Dream Meadowlands.

In September 2018, Disney wrote down its investment in Vice by $157 million.

VICE News Tonight continues to dominate at the Emmys, bringing home 6 awards and breaking its own record set in 2018.

Disney acquired Fox's stake in Vice when its acquisition of 21st Century Fox completed in March 2019.

The food hall was expected to open in April 2019.

On 3 May 2019, Vice Media announced that it raised $250 million in debt from George Soros and other investors.

In 2019, VICE News Tonight dominates for a second year in a row, earning a staggering 18 News & Documentary Emmy Award nominations, and 19 total nominations across VICE News.

In May 2020, Vice media announced they were laying off more than 150 staff due to financial difficulties.

In June 2020, Vice Media launched an investigation into allegations of subsidiary Refinery29's toxic work environment.

Shane Smith,Suroosh Alvi,Lucinda Treat,Gavin McInnes,Piera Gelardi